A jury found 63-year-old Duane “Keffe D” Davis guilty in the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, nearly 30 years after the incident. Shakur was shot on September 7, 1996, while in a black BMW with Death Row Records head Marion “Suge” Knight, who was waiting at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip. Shakur succumbed to his injuries six days later in the hospital.
The jury reached a verdict after deliberating for less than three hours, convicting Davis of “murder with the use of a deadly weapon with the intent to promote, further or assist a criminal gang,” according to ABC News. Prosecutors indicated that Davis did not fire the gun that killed Shakur; they allege that the shooting was carried out by either Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, Davis’ nephew, or another individual in the backseat of the vehicle.
Davis, who has admitted to being a leader of a Los Angeles street gang, was accused of being the “shot caller” who provided the gunman with the weapon. The three other men allegedly involved in the shooting have all died. The Associated Press reported that prosecutors presented substantial evidence linking Davis to the crime, including confessions made in his memoirs and recorded statements.
Davis co-authored the book “Compton Street Legend,” which discusses the shooting and his experiences in the Crips gang. His legal team attempted to prevent the book's use in court, arguing that it was fictionalized and that it was unclear which parts were authored by Davis.
The memoir claims that Shakur and his associates “crossed the line” after assaulting Davis’ nephew at a Las Vegas casino. Prosecutors asserted that Davis’ anger over the incident motivated the shooting, although they chose to emphasize his documentary and police interviews instead of the book.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Binu Palal informed jurors that even if Davis did not pull the trigger, he was responsible for planning the shooting in retaliation for the assault on his nephew. In a 2008 FBI interview regarding the murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G., Davis stated that he remembered handing a gun to individuals in the backseat of a white Cadillac prior to the shooting that killed Shakur and injured Knight.
Davis faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and is the only person tried and convicted for Tupac's murder.